This poem comes from one of my favorite blogs I follow “Be the Change”. You can see it on the listing on the right hand side of the page. Crystal is an amazing woman and I wanted to share this with you.
Joyfilled waiting!

Welcome to the time of great expectation,
the days of counting,
the time of quiet preparedness,
the time to sit with God and wonder,
the most exciting time of the year!

For He is coming!
The One I am waiting for,
the One who gathers me up and carries me,
the One on whom I rest my hopes and dreams,
the One who created me for His purposes,
the One who is always there.

He is coming as a little baby,
sent to a world who doesn’t see Him,
to remind me again that my life is nothing without Him.
And my heart leaps with joy and excitement
as the days count down.

And I expect that
I will see Him in the faces that I meet,
I will hear Him in the hymns and carols,
I will feel Him in the hugs and greetings,
I will serve Him by helping more of His children.
I know that He desires these things for me
and that it will be very good to celebrate His birth.
And I am glad!

What are you expecting this season?

I cannot believe that it is Advent already – actually it is the eve of the 2nd Sunday in Advent. I find this is my favorite time of year because of the waiting and heightened sense of God’s activity in the world. It is a mystical time and one I enjoy. As the Apostle Paul says: May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Happy Advent!

When I began internship I wondered in a blog post what God would bring to birth in the days and months ahead.  To be sure there were many things brought to birth during internship: new relationships, new ventures, and new understandings of what our life together means as “In Mission for Others”.  Over the course of the 9 months of internship there were birthings within myself; the birthing of my voice and God-given creativity that had laid quietly deep inside me, the birthing of my understanding of who I am in ministry – most specifically that I am a midwife, and the concrete affirmation that I do indeed have the gifts for ministry.

Well, on August 6th, 2010 I was officially my birthed into “pastorhood” through the laying on of hands by the other midwives – the bishop and my fellow coworkers.  Yes it was my ordination day and a spectacular day it was.  Surrounded by family, friends (old and new), and many coworkers I was brought into the ministry of pastor by the Holy Spirit.  No words can effectively convey the experience except to say… it was Awe-some.

The groanings and labour pains of seminary are now a distant memory replaced with the joy of beginning ministry with the people of Gloria Dei Lutheran.  Thanks be to God!